The Boland Cavaliers strengthened their chances of qualifying for the play-offs of the new provincial competition by beating the Vodacom Blue Bulls 35-26 in an exciting match in Pretoria on Friday night.

The visitors never conceded their lead after going ahead just before half time and survived a spirited fightback from the home side to secure a bonus point victory which takes them to second place on the log.

The Blue Bulls took an early lead through Hanro Liebenberg's first try of the game, but after fullback Nico Scheepers succeeded with two penalties midway through the first half, the Cavaliers took the lead just before half time thanks to a try by veteran winger Danwel Demas which gave them a 13-7 lead after the first 40 minutes of the match.

The visitors continued their attacking dominance straight after half time and added a penalty and converted try in the first five minutes of the second half to extend their lead to 23-7.

The Blue Bulls were forced to make almost twice as many tackles as the Cavaliers throughout the game and when Basil Short went over for his side's third try, it looked to be all over the hosts.

Trailing by 7-28, the Blue Bulls launched an inspired fightback which was inspired by the impact of their substitutions who came off the bench to swing the momentum in their favour.

Three tries in quick succession through Divan Rossouw, Liebenberg (his second) and Andre Warner gave the Blue Bulls a fighting chance to pull off a spectacular comeback as they trailed by 26 points to 28 with 12 minutes to play.

But the Cavaliers had the final say and struck a decisive blow in the final minutes when Sergio Torrens scored his side's fourth try to seal the victory.

Boland conceded possession on the Blue Bulls line, but the home side lost the ball behind their try line through some aggressive defence which resulted in Torrens pouncing on a loose ball for his second try of the match.